A Birthday to Remember

April 16, 2012|Comments: 0

Bill Hogan celebrated his 100th birthday in style. On April 14, the Lexington resident and AARP member was surrounded by family and friends – and the Red Sox. Bill threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park during opening weekend of the ballpark’s historic 100th anniversary.

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The pitch was a year in the making. With his doctor’s approval and support of family and friends, Bill worked with a trainer to practice his throw, strengthen his legs and improve his balance.

Born and raised in Cambridge, Bill is six days older than Fenway, a lifelong Massachusetts resident and diehard Red Sox fan. He keeps busy and active at Brookhaven, the senior living facility he’s called home for the last fourteen years. He exercises regularly, plays a mean game of poker, and recently brought the house down during an improv performance.

We asked Bill to share his thoughts on staying healthy and active at age 100 and beyond. In his words, the three things that he feels are equally important:

Health care. “Good genes help of course, but so does staying on top of your health. Since my parents and sister died of intestinal cancer, I knew I had to make sure that I was checked regularly, and always talked to my doctor about preventative screenings, even before that kind of thing was standard procedure! Thanks to good health care, anything that might have been a problem was caught well before they could ever turn into a problem.”

Exercise. “I’ve always been active, long before I even thought about training to throw a baseball at Fenway Park! I played hockey in school, and I even got out and made time to exercise when I was working. And I’ve always loved to golf. When I came here [to Brookhaven], I tried new things like Tai Chi, whatever they’ve got going on.”

Being social. “Just as important as staying healthy and exercising – keeping your mind active is key. I think a big part of that is getting out and spending time with people. I do a lot of different things. I have a group I play poker with regularly, and there’s bridge... I always thought that I was a pretty good bridge player before – but now, I am much better at strategy!”

Wish Bill a happy birthday, and check out footage from the game at the AARP MA Facebook page!